Question

Living in a foreign country can be exciting, but it can also be confusing (令人迷惑的).A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”.

On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought people weren’t paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked,“Do you have cold drinks?”The woman there didn’t say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows (眉毛), which in Micronesia means“yes”.

Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means “no”.

Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some students had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”.

1. These Americans teaching English in other countries found that they ______.

A. should go abroad for vacations

B. needed to learn foreign languages

C. should often discuss their experiences

D. had problems with communications

2.People in Micronesia show “yes” by ______.

A. nodding heads B. raising eyebrows

C. shaking heads D. saying “no”

3.Tom misunderstood his class at first because______.

A. he did not know much about Indian culture

B. he didn’t explain everything clearly enough

C. some students didn’t understand his questions

D. he didn’t know where the students came from

4.The passage is mainly about______.

A. body language in foreign restaurants

B. class discussion in Indian schools

C. miscommunication in different cultures

D. English teaching in other countries

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文告诉我们不同文化间的理解错误现象，并举了几个真实可信的实例。在密克罗尼西亚通过扬起眉毛表示“是”， 汤姆起先不明白他的学生的意思也是因为他对印度了解不多的理解错误。

1.在其它国家教英语的美国人发现他们在交流方面有问题。根据短文A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”.可知D。

2.细节理解题。在密克罗尼西亚通过扬起眉毛表示“是”。根据She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows, which in Micronesia means“yes”。故选B。

3.判断推理题。 汤姆起先不明白他的学生的意思因为他对印度了解不多。根据 对汤姆的解释不同地区的学生有不同的表达yes的方式，起先汤姆不懂最后终于明白其中原因可推测出答案，故选A。

4.主旨大意题。这篇短文主要是关于在不同文化中的理解错误。根据全文内容可知答案。故选C。

考点：社会文化类短文阅读。